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Wednesday 24 July 2019

The American soldier's diet during World War 1

Three special-purpose rations came into general use in World War 1 for the American soldier.


(1) The trench ration to be used during trench warfare consisted mainly of canned roast beef, corned beef, salmon, and sardines plus potatoes and white bread which could be either prepared as a hot meal, or eaten straight out of the can.

(2) The reserve ration, was carried by a soldier on his person for when regular food was
unavailable. A typical pack consisted of a one-pound can of corned beef, two half pound tins of hard bread, and some sugar, and salt.

(3) The "iron" ration, was a packaged unit of concentrated food carried by the soldier in an pocket sized can to sustain life during emergencies when all other sources had run out. It consisted of three cakes of a mixture of beef powder and cooked wheat and three small chocolate bars.

Also in their ration packs was chewing gum which they would share around with their French and British allies. As a consequence the gum was popularised in Europe.

The limited and standardized diet of meat, potatoes, and white bread served to American soldiers during World War I played an important role in uniting American food tastes into a more traditional British style.

Source Food For Thought by Ed Pearce


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